Morning Skate: Looks like Bruins are going to face Malcolm Subban

Morning Skate: Looks like Bruins are going to face Malcolm Subban

LAS VEGAS – Here are all the links from around the hockey world, and what I’m reading while watching the Patriots/Jets in Sin City.

* Marc-Andre Fleury has been placed on injured reserve with what’s suspected to be a possible concussion, and that means the Golden Knights are expected to start Malcolm Subban against the Bruins on Sunday night in Vegas. What a turn of events to allow a 23-year-old former Bruins first round pick to get a chance at revenge against the B’s team that placed him on waivers earlier this month, and thereby allowed him to go Vegas for nothing in return.

Subban has yet to appear for the Golden Knights as Fleury had been solid and off to a 3-1 start for the Golden Knights this season, and really this could go one of two ways for a Bruins team looking to end a three-game road trip on a two-game win streak. This could be a case of a former player enjoying a career game against their former team, and Subban rising to the occasion for the first time at the NHL level.

I’ll have to see it to believe it, however. Subban is off to one of the worst starts in NHL history based on two horrific starts (5.82 goals against average and .787 save percentage) for the Bruins at the NHL level over the last few years, and the numbers are truly gruesome. He appeared a little better in training camp this season with a maturing game and attitude to match, but the jury is still way, way out on whether Subban will ever even be an average NHL goalie.

This should be a chance for the Bruins to really jump all over the Golden Knights for a Sunday night laugher, and prove that giving up Subban for nothing wasn’t really much of a mistake at all with what appears to be a first-round bust.

* A good piece on the Traveling Jagrs that take pilgrimages to NHL rinks in order to watch the future Hall of Famer continue to do his thing at the NHL level. The great thing about the Jagrs is that they grow by one each time he joins a new NHL team.

Bruins featured prominently on NBC national schedule

Bruins featured prominently on NBC national schedule

The Boston Bruins are coming off back-to-back playoff seasons, so they won’t be any strangers to the national television audience in the upcoming NHL season.

The Bruins are set to be on NBC or NBCSN 14 times in nationally televised games during the 2018-19 season including the Jan. 1 Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame, and their Oct. 3 season opener against the reigning Cup champion Washington Capitals in DC. The 14 games are tied with the New York Rangers for the fifth-most in the NHL behind only the Blackhawks, Capitals, Flyers and Penguins.

The B’s season opener vs. the Caps will actually kick off NBC’s NHL coverage for the regular season, which is set to include a whopping 109 televised games.

Other highlights from the NBC Networks broadcast schedule include a home game against the Atlantic Division rival Montreal Canadiens on Monday, January 14, a road game against the defending Western Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, February 20, and a home tilt on Thursday Feb. 28 against the Tampa Bay Lightning team that eliminated them in the playoffs.

Here’s the rest of the national television 2018-19 schedule for the Black and Gold that certainly has some games to circle on the ole hockey calendar:

Bruins Games Broadcast on NBC and NBC Sports Network (all times Eastern):

NBC SPORTS BOSTON SCHEDULE

Morning Skate: Mikita's legacy extends beyond the ice

Morning Skate: Mikita's legacy extends beyond the ice

Here are all the links from around the hockey world, and what I’m reading while the fog officially rolled in this morning.

*NBC Sports announced their 109-game schedule for the NHL season, and it all starts with the Bruins season opener on Oct. 3 against the Washington Capitals. The Wednesday Night Rivalry games will be done away with and in its place Wednesday Night Hockey is going to feature a more diverse collection of teams and locations featuring non-traditional markets. It’s a great idea and completely called for given the emergence of teams like the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights.